Forest and Sun

Water soluble graphite and graphite on gessoed found paper

21.5 x 14 cm

Available unframed

This piece draws inspiration from Max Ernst's 'Forest' works made in 1920s/30s. I've always loved these images which recall his feelings of the ‘enchantment and terror’ of the woods near his childhood home in Cologne. The paintings and drawings of petrified forests use the techniques of 'frottage' (laying paper or canvas over a surface such as wood and rubbing it with a pencil, charcoal, or another medium) and grattage (scraping away almost-dry paint on the canvas). The encircled sun at the center of the composition is a reoccurring motif in this series of works which are imbued with a vivid otherworldliness.